St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Exam Information – Key Details 2026

Introduction

 

St. Mary’s Calne is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11–18. It is located close to the market town of Calne in the Wiltshire Downs and is a relatively small school with just 360 students, of which approximately 80% are boarders.

 

St. Mary’s was first established in 1873 by the vicar of Calne and takes its name from the local church. The school was originally attended by nine daughters of local tradespeople and farmers, but gradually grew and expanded. It moved to its current site in 1907 and has acquired more land over the years. It now occupies a 25-acre site, which boasts several impressive new buildings, including a state-of-the-art library and wood-clad sixth form boarding house.

 

St. Mary’s is consistently listed as one of the UK’s top boarding schools for girls in league tables. It is highly academic and particularly strong in science and mathematics. Recently, the school’s science department was awarded the Platinum Science Mark Award. The award is held by just ten schools in the UK and St Mary’s was the first independent school to receive it.

 

St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Exam Information 2026

 

Address: Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 0DF

County: Wiltshire

Admissions info: 01249 857206 or admissions@stmaryscalne.org

School type: Girls’ independent boarding and day school

Open Day date: Throughout the year

Exam date (Entrance Day): Autumn Term of Year 6

Exam date (Common Entrance): Spring Term of Year 6

Pass mark (CEM Select): Aim for 65% in our practice tests.

Pass mark (papers): Aim for 75%+ in our practice tests.

 

St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Open Days

 

The school hosts four Open Days on Saturday mornings throughout the year. The events commence with a chat with teachers over refreshments, followed by a presentation from senior member of staff and some of St. Mary’s current pupils. During the presentation, prospective pupils can enjoy some fun craft activities. You will later re-join your child and enjoy a tour around the school. Pre-booking for Open Days is essential. You can view the school’s exact location on the map below:

 

 

St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Admissions 

 

St. Mary’s Calne is extremely popular and the school advises that a girl should be registered for 11+ entry when she turns 8 years old or earlier. The school has fairly rigid entrance procedures and carries out a pre-assessment of all candidates prior to the examination.

 

You are expected to make an initial enquiry 3–4 years ahead of entry and, following this, to visit the school and meet with the Head. You will then be invited to register your daughter by completing a registration form and paying a non-refundable registration fee of £250.

 

Following registration, parents will be sent confirmation of a reserved place and regular newsletters and details of events being held at school. Please be aware that the reserved place is not a confirmed offer and is subject to assessment and examination.

 

Girls who have a reserved place will be invited to an informal taster day, usually towards the end of Year 5. They will then be invited to attend an Entrance Day in the Autumn Term of  Year 6, which is when they will be assessed and evaluated by St. Mary’s.

 

The Common Entrance for 11+ is usually held in the Spring Term of Year 6. Based on Entrance Day performance and subject to achieving satisfactory results in the Common Entrance exam (or in the St. Mary’s 11+ examinations), a firm offer of a place may be made.

 

St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Scholarships and Bursaries

 

St. Mary’s Calne offers Scholarships in the following areas:

 

• Academic
• All-Rounder
• Art
• Drama
• Sport
• Choral (for first-study singers)
• Music (for first-study instrumentalists)

 

Academic Scholarships are awarded on the basis of strong Entrance Day performance and your child’s results in further assessments (testing English and Maths skills).

 

Assessments for Art, Drama, Music and Sport Scholarships take place in January of Year 6. The allocation of these awards is subject to performance in the Common Entrance exam / St Mary’s entrance exam. For more details about scholarships, please click here.

 

The school has a limited number of Foundation (fee-assisted) places available and applications for these should be sent directly to the Head Teacher. The Foundation awards are means-tested and can reduce the day fees by up to 100%.

 

CGA bursaries are also available but are limited to the daughters of former pupils wishing to enter St. Mary’s. These awards are reviewed annually and may vary in size, depending on changes in your finances.

 

St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Exam Format

 

The 11+ Entrance Day exam at St. Mary’s Calne consists of the following assessments:

 

• ISEB Common Pretest
• Creative writing paper

 

The Pretest assesses skills in Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

 

The Creative writing paper examines writing skills, including spelling, vocabulary and punctuation. Marks will be awarded for good use of imagination, creativity, form, purpose, organisation, cohesion and sentence structure.

 

Please see below for further details and recommendations on how to prepare for the St. Mary’s Calne 11+ examination.

 

How to Prepare for the St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Exam

 

One of the best ways of preparing for competitive entrance exams is to use practice papers. These help students to familiarise themselves with the format and question types they will encounter in the actual test in an efficient and effective manner. They also provide an excellent opportunity for students to practise working under time pressure.

 

Our practice papers, which are available for immediate download, print and use after purchase, offer excellent practice and preparation for the Common Entrance at 11+. They cover all the key skills and can be used to identify any weaker areas that require additional work ahead of the exam and to help build confidence.

 

Our 11+ practice papers are thoroughly researched and up to date. Every year, they are used successfully by tens of thousands of students targeting schools with a competitive entrance examination process. They are designed to be age appropriate but challenging, to reflect the demands of the Common Entrance at 11+.

 

St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Exam Pass Marks and Target Scores

 

Pupils who are able to score 80%+ consistently in our 11+ online practice tests should be on track to pass the St. Mary’s Calne ISEB Pre-test exam.

 

Pupils who are able to score 80%+ consistently in our practice papers should be on track to pass the written section of the St. Mary’s Calne 11+ exam.

 

Whilst there are no guarantees, this has historically been a fairly strong indicator that your child should do well in the St. Mary’s Calne 11+ exam.

 

Don’t worry if your child is not scoring well in our practice papers from the outset. With targeted practice and focus, it’s possible to make big improvements in a short amount of time!

 

St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Exam Practice Papers

ISEB Pretest

 

St. Mary’s Calne use the online ISEB Pretest for their 11+ entrance exam. We thus recommend the following online practice tests, which are specifically designed to help students familiarise themselves with the online test format in all four key subjects:

 

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 1

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 2

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 3

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 4

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 5

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 6

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 7

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 8

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 9

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 10

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 11

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 12

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 13

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 14

NEW ISEB Pretest Practice Test 15

 

✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended full practice tests for the St. Mary’s Calne ISEB Pretest exam at a large discount. These are available on our other site, Pretest Plus. Click the button below to learn more:

 

ISEB Pretest Practice Tests 1-15 Bundle - Save 35%

 

✅ Alternatively, you can choose a bundle of five of our recommended full practice tests for the St. Mary’s Calne ISEB Pretest exam and still save 25%. Select the relevant bundle below to learn more:

 

ISEB Pretest Practice Tests 1-5 Bundle - Save 25%

 

ISEB Pretest Practice Tests 6-10 Bundle - Save 25%

 

ISEB Pretest Practice Tests 11-15 Bundle - Save 25%

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The following video courses cover everything your child needs to know to do well in the ISEB Pretest:

 

NEW ISEB Pretest English Course

NEW ISEB Pretest Maths Course

NEW ISEB Pretest 2D Non-Verbal Reasoning Course

NEW ISEB Pretest Spatial Reasoning Course

NEW ISEB Pretest Verbal Reasoning Course

 

✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended video courses for the St. Mary’s Calne ISEB Pretest exam at a large discount. These are available on our other site, Pretest Plus. Click the button below to learn more:

 

ISEB Pretest Video Courses Bundle - Save 30%

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Our Skill Practice products consist of focused tests that allow your child to improve targeted skills ahead of the ISEB Pretest:

 

NEW ISEB Pretest English – Reading Comprehension

NEW ISEB Pretest English – Cloze Sentences

NEW ISEB Pretest English – Shuffled Sentences

NEW ISEB Pretest English – SPAG

NEW ISEB Pretest Mathematics

NEW ISEB Pretest 2D Non-Verbal Reasoning

NEW ISEB Pretest Spatial Reasoning

NEW ISEB Pretest Verbal Reasoning

 

✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended skill practice tests for the St. Mary’s Calne ISEB Pretest exam at a large discount. These are available on our other site, Pretest Plus. Click the button below to learn more:

 

ISEB Pretest Skill Practice Bundle - Save 30%

 

 

Don’t forget to use the code ppdiscount at checkout to get 10% off orders over £80 and 20% off orders over £200 if you don’t buy a bundle.

 

 

English: Writing paper

 

We highly recommend the following packs to prepare successfully for the St. Mary’s Calne 11+ English paper. They will help improve your daughter’s writing skills, including spelling, vocabulary and punctuation:

 

11+ Complete Writing Guide

11+ Writing Prompts

11+ Rewrite & Improve

11+ Spelling Pack 1

11+ Spelling Pack 2

 

✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended 11+ resources for the St. Mary’s Calne English paper at a large discount. Click the button below to learn more:

 

11+ English Bundle - Save 15%

 

If you’d like to have your child’s writing assessed and marked, you may be interested in our Writing Marking Service. Please click here to learn more.

 

 

Don’t forget to use the code eppdiscount at checkout to get 10% off orders over £70 and 20% off orders over £250 if you don’t buy a bundle.

 

 

The information provided about St. Mary’s Calne was believed to be correct at the time of publishing. However, please be aware of possible future changes. We advise you to contact the school directly if you are unsure of anything. School contact details are provided within the post.

 

Please note that Pretest Plus is an independent publisher of practice tests and resources, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publishers of the CEM Select or any other test publisher and St. Mary’s Calne.